


Déjà Vous

by AngelicSentinel



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Canon-Typical Violence, Dimension Travel, Do not repost, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 16:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19009615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicSentinel/pseuds/AngelicSentinel
Summary: An artist is an artist and a critic is a critic. But in a world where artists are critics and thieves are detectives, what's a displaced thief to do?





	1. [first]

**Author's Note:**

> [Art Masterpost Here by Tori-Cane](https://angelicsentinel.tumblr.com/post/185230416863)
> 
> Many thanks to ToriCane for providing such a beautiful and inspirational piece of work and for being so patient with me as I struggled with offline stuff (not to mention the other gorgeous pieces of art, they're all great!) and to katsukifatale for hosting one of the best bangs I’ve ever participated in! 
> 
> Also much love to D for keeping my spirits up while my bro was fighting for his life, K for the last minute late night beta job, and L for the constant support and cheerleading ❤ you all! 
> 
> Any remaining mistakes are mine.

-♠-

The full moon shone overhead like a beacon. From his position on the roof of the museum, legs dangling over the edge, the thief saw the hundreds of people in the crowd below, some waving signs. The figure in white tilted the brim of his tall hat back, letting out a sigh as he twirled a small jade statuette in his hand, intricately carved. He ran his thumb over the proud branching antler of the kirin, down to the red sapphire held in its claws, holding it up to the moon.

Nothing. One had to be looking closely to see the way his knuckles tightened around the patterned figure. Time was running out.

But he rose to his feet in one smooth motion as he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and tipped his hat. “Little Detective,” he said.

“Thief,” the small detective replied, his blue eyes wide and luminous in the dark under his tangled hair. The contrast with his formal, neatly pressed small jacket had always perplexed the thief. He wondered, as he often did, why he took so much care for his clothes, but zero effort with his grooming.

“Hand it over,” the detective said.

He grinned. “Now why would I do a thing like that?”

The detective shot him a flat look. “Because stealing is wrong?” he said.

It made the thief laugh, showing his teeth. He waved his finger. “Uh uh uh, Detective, I’m not quite through with it yet.” Yes, stealing was wrong in the scheme of things, but far, far worse things existed. A cold laugh, a flash of blonde hair stole across his memory, and he had to fight to keep his face in its rictus of a grin. He wondered if he’d ever see his mother again.

Maybe once he found Pandora, she’d come home.

He opened his mouth to speak again, but something behind the detective made him pause. In the distance, an aurora danced through the sky, winding and curling and moving towards them as if it were a living, breathing thing. An unusual sight to say the least.

The detective must have noticed his discomfort, for he turned as well, showing the thief his back. He tried not to be touched by the trust. Things like that had been happening more and more often, and it charmed him.

“That’s not supposed to happen this far south,” he said, and the thief agreed.

They watched together for a long moment, the roar of the crowd below, as clouds rapidly formed close to the boreal lights, sparking with lightning as thunder rumbled.

Then, they disappeared as soon as they formed.

“That’s not normal either,” the thief said, his voice tight. “What’s going on?”

Silence was his answer. When he looked down, the detective was gone.


	2. [one]

-♣-

It was raining hard.

The cool rain fell and soaked through the warm wool of Kaito’s suit to his skin as he stood on top of the spire of the Suzuki Museum of Arts. He held a jade kirin statuette with a yellow sapphire in his right hand as he clung to the cool metal of the lighting rod with his left.

Lightning crashed, casting a wicked arc across the sky, illuminating the white figure on the roof. Kaito had a brief moment of panic, since he was holding on to a lightning rod, but to his relief, the bolt struck a much taller building in the near vicinity.

That was too close. He probably shouldn’t have dragged it out like this, but the freak thunderstorm had ruined several parts of his escape plan. With the wind as heavy as it was, the driving rain, AND the lightning, he couldn’t use his glider as he had initially planned.

He did have a coil of rope and a small grapnel in case of emergencies, but a large crowd surrounded the museum still, though many were currently fleeing inside because of the storm.

The weather had been clear at the beginning of the heist, the storm forming suddenly while Kaito was doing his grandstanding on the roof. He was more than a little concerned for his safety, and the safety of the thinning crowd below. Especially since Aoko was down there. The inspector.

Even Akako. He couldn’t let them come to harm.

Half the task force had diverted from chasing him to managing crowd flow and helping them get to cover, but it was still best to end it quickly.

Another lighting strike illuminated a speck of detective below, glaring up at him. The little detective, out even in this storm, chasing him no matter what.

Kaito cracked a smile, unknowingly soft, at the determination of the detective. What a pain.

Lightning struck again, even closer to the museum. Kaito abseiled under the cover of the flash, the split second of bright light blinding them long enough to escape.

He slid down the steeple to the gentle slope of the roof when light footsteps made him turn. He cracked a wide grin, face manic and just this side of unhinged, mostly to hide his surprise. How had it made it up so fast? Probably because of one of his little spy gadgets.

Kaito tipped the brim of his hat. “Detective,” he said.

“Kaitō Kid,” the detective said warily. He looked like a half-drowned puppy underneath all that rain, neat hair plastered to his forehead and glasses tucked into his collar. “Hand it over.” Kaito would have liked to, truly, but with the fierce cloud cover, he hadn’t yet been able to check it against the moon.

He smirked instead, waving his finger, “Uh, uh, uh, Detective. I’m not done with it yet. And it’s dangerous to be out in the storm, you know. Especially in high places.”

The little detective scoffed. “ _Please_. As if it’s safe for you to be out here either, idiot. So hand over the statue so we can both get out of the rain and go home.”

Kaito sobered, letting the grin fall off his face as he readied a small bomb. He’d have to be careful; the heavy wind and rain would make the knockout gas much less effective. “Not quite yet, Detective.”

It happened in a blur, a twist, a cacophony of light and sound.

The detective readied his watch. Kaito leapt. Lighting struck again. A hoarse childish scream as burning heat flooded through his body, crackled through his nerves. An electric white-gold tangle of scales and fur and whiskers in front of his eyes, branching out in bright light like the span of antlers.

Chimes tinkled softly in the wind.

And then Kaito fell.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw red light flash and barely made out Akako clasping her hands together, her hair floating.

He landed hard on his side, world spinning before his eyes until it became little more than white noise.

When Kaito came to his senses, he found he was on the ground, fingers dug into the roots of wet grass, next to the museum. He blinked blearily and rose slowly to his feet. Every part of his body ached. Weight shifted against his back, and he found he was wearing a backpack.

Kaito shook his head and found he had knocked his glasses askew. He adjusted them, finding the lenses were nonprescription. He didn’t recall stashing glasses away with the rest of his disguise, but he must have.

He looked up. The sky was clear above him, an enormous full moon shining brightly overhead.

It was no longer raining. Had he really been out that long?

Someone called out above him in a familiar voice, white flickering in front of his vision, and Kaito turned his attention from the sky to the top of the museum.

It was him…? Standing on top of the spire on the roof of the museum, jade statuette of a kirin with a gem in its claws.

Why was he simultaneously up there and down here?

What was this, an out-of-body experience? No. If it was, wouldn’t he be up there, not down here? Besides, his body ached too much from the fall. Did he hit his head on the way down? Was he dreaming? The last thing remembered was standing on top of that very spire looking down over the crowd below.

He took a step, and nearly staggered from the dizziness. What was happening? Kaito was so confused. Was it some strange magic of Akako’s? Hadn’t she been glowing red? Did he split somehow? Kaito shook his head violently. No, what was he even thinking?

It was probably an impostor.

“Toshirō-kun!” Aoko called. Kaito turned automatically at her familiar voice, despite the strange name on her lips.

She stalked over, frowning, her hands on her hips, her hair messier than usual, her brow furrowed. She towered over him; he only came up to her thighs. “What have I told you about running away from me? Especially on a heist night? Anything can happen! You know we can’t trust that crazy thief. He’s dangerous!”

A horrible sinking feeling crawled through him, down to the very pit of his gut.

Kaito held up his hands.

They were small.

Then his eyes moved to his clothes.

Shorts. Red trainers. A white buttoned shirt. Suspenders. A blue coat. Touching his collar, he found a very familiar bow tie. More than likely red.

No. No way.

Even the damned devil dart watch was there on his wrist.

He was dreaming.

He had to be dreaming.

“Ao-aoko?” he stammered.

“Don’t think you can get so familiar with me, Toshirō-kun. It’s Aoko-nee-chan as I’ve told you a thousand times before, okay?” But it wasn’t a harsh scolding. More like exasperated fondness, really.

What in the world?

“Aoko...nee-chan?” he managed to get out. That sounded so weird. His head spun.

And Toshirō-kun? That was his _name_? Kaito frowned, and then it deepened as he realized his voice was higher pitched.

She smiled, and the soft light from it was blinding. Enough so he had to look away. It seemed she rarely looked at him like that anymore, these days. Looking over the grounds of the museum, he noticed it was dry. Even the wet patch he’d landed in was gone.

And the large lettering on the museum read Momoi Museum of Arts, instead of Suzuki. Momoi, like Aoko’s close friend, Momoi Keiko.

“See, was that so difficult, Shiro-kun?” Aoko asked him. Kaito swallowed his panic as she took his hand in hers. Her hand was almost twice the size of his, and Kaito had to bite the inside of his cheek in order not show any outward expression about the difference.

“N-no,” Kaito said, giving her his patented smile, but it was shaky and not as broad as it usually was. Inside he was reeling, mind moving a hundred kilometers an hour. He needed to get away, time to process, to think.

Kaito gritted his teeth. He had to ditch Aoko. But she had such a tight grip on his hand.

Aoko was pulling him deeper into the crowd, so he faked tripping, using all of his minuscule body weight to jerk his hand out of hers. At this size, it was quite easy to slip between the legs of the crowd until he was standing in front of them all, glaring at the impostor phantom thief on the roof.

The doppelganger standing on the spire stared down at him with a wide, cheeky grin, tipping the brim of his hat at him. The brim shadowed his eyes; the glint of the monocle reflected the moon so the glass looked entirely silver. He did a backflip off the roof, his mantle exploding into the white wings of his glider.

But Kaito was already moving, passing by an irate Mōri Kogorō bossing members of the task force around with practiced authority. A cry of “Inspector Mōri!” almost made him stop to gape, but he had to catch the moonlit magician before he got away.

If things were the same, then his landing zone should be a deserted plaza outside the projected police perimeter, within walking distance to both a bus stop and a café. What Kaito himself would have done had it not been raining.

At least this body was fit, but even so, Kaito would have to really push it in order to make it before the man in white fled.

But it took three steps for Kaito to equal one of his normal running stride, so the impostor had already changed into nondescript dark clothing in the alley by the time Kaito arrived.

“Hey!” Kaito called. “Wait!”

The impostor phantom turned. “Little detective!” he said, surprisingly delighted. He tossed the red gem up in the air and caught it between his finger and his thumb. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Wait. The gem Kaito had personally stolen was yellow. And what had happened to the statue?

The brim of the cap was still pulled low over the thief’s face, but from Kaito’s perspective, down by his thighs, it was enough. He knew that face.

One intense blue eye. Hair oddly perfect, even under a hat. No doubt. It was the little detective. One Edogawa Conan.

“Who are you?” Kaito asked. He was desperate to confirm it.

Kaito could tell from the brief widening of his eyes that his question took him aback, but he hid it quickly. “Now now, Detective, you know I can’t tell you that.”

Kaito slipped his hand into his pocket, narrowing his eyes. “Edogawa?”

The man masquerading as Kaitō Kid tilted his head to the side. “Who?”

Kaito was watching his tells, and nothing doing. He genuinely didn’t react to the name.

But that shape, in an older face…who else could it be but Edogawa Conan? Kaito grinned. He knew he was right. For just a moment too long, Edogawa watched him with intense, heart-stopping focus, familiar to him as breathing, and then he stepped forward, brushing past him.

Kaito caught his hand before he could place the red gem inside his bag. Hmm. Quick hands. Insanely fast, on par with Kaito’s own. But Kaito grabbed his wrist, reaching inside his pocket to pickpocket him instead, squirreling away a deck of cards and turning, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Then Kaito was bodily turned.

Edogawa’s eyes gleamed in the moonlight, his grin wide and just this side of manic. “Interesting side skill you have there, Detective. What light fingers~ Are you thinking of becoming my assistant?”

Kaito grinned back, smile wild and free, a mirror of Edogawa’s own expression. “Maybe,” he sing-songed. “Is the position open?”

“Maybe~” he said, and laughed. “Nice try, little Detective. What’s gotten into you tonight?”

“Maybe it’s the spirit of Kid,” Kaito said.

“Well, well, make sure that gem gets to the authorities, hmm? And you can keep the cards. Call it a gift. Keep practicing, Detective!” Then Edogawa ruffled his hair to Kaito’s loud protests, threw a small flash bomb that made Kaito lift his arm to guard his eyes, and disappeared into the night.

Kaito blinked. Shifted. Felt the additional weight in his backpack. He took out the red gem, back in the jade kirin’s claws. When had he reattached it? Kaito hadn’t even noticed him doing it. It took skill to slip something like that past Kaito.

He lifted it up, and held it against the moon.

Nothing.

He put it back in his bag and let out a slow exhale, taking off his glasses, putting his palms over his eyes and rubbing them.

Kaito had always been good at adapting, but this was a bit much, even for him. He couldn’t get over the detective, older and taller than him. He walked toward the heist location slowly, hand on his chin, deep in thought. It couldn’t be a dream. Too much detail. It felt too real. He scowled.

As soon as he reached the heist location, a frantic Aoko grabbed him and pulled him towards an older green sedan parked close by. “Toshirō-kun!” Aoko scolded him, “I told you not to run away!” She had a lot more to say about it too, but Kaito tuned her out like he always did, instead taking in the old car with interest. It had seen hard use, dings and scratches, a large dent on the side.

Inspector Nakamori opened the driver’s side and got in, while Aoko opened the door for Kaito, and then entered after him. Nakamori was dressed in his usual green suit, but it was rumpled, and his tie was stained. Not only that, he had more lines on his face, grey in his hair. He slouched, his mood subdued.

“He got away again, Dad,” Aoko said as Nakamori started the engine.

“Yeah,” Nakamori said. He grimaced, a dark look shadowing his eyes. “But he can’t run forever. I’ll get him next time.”

No energetic shouting. And his look and expression were so dark. What had happened to the old man? Kaito couldn’t help but wonder, looking at him.

Then a wave of exhaustion hit him. He fought a yawn, surprised when it overwhelmed him anyway. He struggled to keep his eyes open, but Aoko’s voice was soothing, and her side was warm, and he was suddenly so tired.

He slipped into sleep before he knew it, curling up in the back against Aoko’s side.

-♠-

Shinichi frowned as he watched the detective leave from his motorbike.

He’d feared the worst when Ishimoto Toshirō had disappeared from the rooftop during that odd weather phenomenon, but that had been somewhat relieved by his reappearance on the ground just a few moments later. He must have fallen, but he stood with no problem, so Shinichi figured he wasn't injured.

Only for his stomach to sink again as the detective had acted dazed, looking around confused. He’d probably hit his head on the way down. Shinichi had stayed just long enough to make sure he was truly all right before leaving, only to encounter him again as the detective had accurately deduced his escape path.

And pickpocketed him, the cheeky little thing. Shinichi couldn’t help the small swell of admiration that followed his show of skill. Mixed with confusion as he proceeded to act nothing like his usual self.

But the real thing that was bothering him was the desperation in his voice when he asked him who he was. And then a name, Edogawa. Shinichi denied it, but it must have still meant something to the detective as he grinned like Shinichi had confirmed something.

Not only that, but he’d held the kirin up to the moon, and Shinichi almost gave himself away in his shock. Something had changed in the time he’d gone from the roof to the ground, and Shinichi had to find out what.

Spirit of Kid, indeed. Why had he held it up to the moon? Did he know?

He slipped on his helmet and cranked up his bike, speeding out of the lot, determined to check on the little detective again in the morning.


	3. [two]

-♣-

Kaito jerked awake with a gasp. He was in bed. His heart sank as he looked down and found himself still in a childlike body, then blushed as he realized that Aoko must have put him to bed.

He stood, looked out the window at the early morning. The sun had just barely risen, bathing the world in soft oranges and pinks. From his position, he only just saw the portrait of his father in white tie with doves and confetti over the balcony, which meant the room he was currently sleeping in was Aoko’s.

Or it used to be Aoko’s room. Or maybe here it was never was. It was something familiar in an unfamiliar place. A Yaiba figurine there. An old baseball, a stack of action manga. A light novel Kaito knew was his, though he pretended to hate them in front of Aoko. No sign of Aoko’s presence at all.

The room was his. He lived with Aoko.

It hit him then, how insane all this was, and he laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed, throwing himself back on the bed, putting his hands behind his head. It was a release of emotion more than something he found funny. Because really, what was happening to him right now wasn’t funny at all.

It was not insulting enough that Edogawa was Kaitō Kid here, oh no. Kaito had the dart watch, which meant _Kaito_ was the little psycho puppet master. Aoko was acting as Kaito’s guardian, so that would make the inspector what, Sleeping Ginzō?

Kaito wrinkled his nose. He couldn’t just assume there was a 1:1 correlation. He didn’t know what to do. This world was foreign and strange; recognizable, but only just. Like looking into a fun house mirror, reality distorted. He shook his head and stood, grabbing his backpack off the desk and pulling out the jade kirin.

It was a piece that must have been carved in antiquity, worn and well aged. After removing the gem from the kirin’s front claws and examining it closely, Kaito determined it was still corundum, which made it a ruby since it was now red. It wasn’t Pandora. Moonlight shone through untouched, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t have something to do with Kaito waking up in this place. The color change definitely had something to do with it.

Kaito was still in his clothes from last night, minus the shoes and glasses. He wrinkled his nose again. Not his clothes. Edogawa’s clothes. Though he did wear clothes very similar to them when he was a child, usually to his father’s performances.

(And also to the little play wedding he’d had with the son of his parents’ friends, though Kaito couldn’t remember his face.)

They certainly hadn’t contained this many spy gadgets, though. A voice changing bow tie, an anaesthetic dart watch. Elastic suspenders with industrial grade weight capacity. A belt with dispensable soccer balls. A least Kaito still had something of an arsenal, even if he missed his other tricks.

He changed his shirt and jacket, frowning when he found a phone in his pocket as he went to pull off his shorts. He placed it to the side, pulled on a clean pair, putting on red shoes and glasses, adjusting his bowtie. He pulled a mobile phone with a moon charm off its charger. He unlocked the phone he found in his pocket—the one without the charm—to find the background was a picture of himself and Aoko staring back at him.

At his full size. At his right age.

It made him uneasy. Something strange was definitely going on. He bit his lip, pocketed that one, grabbed the bag with the kirin in it, then he stepped out of Aoko's room to look around.

Nothing looked different, that was the first thing that really struck him. He poked his head into the room next door, and what used to be the guest room contained a sleeping Aoko. It was accented with things Aoko liked and most of her personal possessions. Feeling a little uncomfortable at invading her personal space, he stayed just long enough to grab several discarded hair pins from her vanity before moving on, looking through various doors as he went, orienting himself.

He grabbed an orange from the bowl on the table before sending Aoko a message about going out to play, making sure it was from the proper phone, the one with the moon charm.

Then he left the house and walked next door, peeling the orange as he went. He unlocked the door with a couple picks he'd made from Aoko's pins, since he had no idea where the other Kaito hid his house key, if it ever left his person to begin with.

The house was dusty and looked like no one lived there, but it had the same pictures of his parents, the same everything. He stepped through it carefully, but it appeared that his mother was still gone. In a way, that was comforting. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Kaito meandered up to his room. Not much was different here, either. It was like he’d just left. The same books and manga, a set of magic props, clothes. He could be at home, if it wasn't for this little body. He scowled. His height and reach kept throwing him off.

He put the bag on his desk, then slid his desk chair over to the portrait and climbed up, pressing against the frame on the hidden release.

Nothing.

He stepped down and continued to try the frame, then when that didn’t work, attempted to lift it, but no, still nothing.

He slumped down against the wall, tried not to be disappointed, became disappointed anyway. If Edogawa really was Kid, then there was really no reason why his father’s workshop would still be there. He put his face in his hands. Then he took a deep breath and stood.

Kaito moved his desk chair back, sat down in it, and stared at his father’s portrait, mind blank, not really thinking of anything. He had no idea of what to do, or how he was supposed to get back to the place where everything made sense. He pulled out the kirin, playing with it, running his hand over it, flipping it. He took the gem out of its claw placement, rolling it between his palms, making it disappear and reappear with a flourish.

His phone rang, startling him out of his morose thoughts. He set the kirin down and picked up his phone, looking at the screen. The caller ID read “the hellspawn” unhelpfully, and had no contact image, though it at least told him he had the number saved. Kaito answered it. “Hello?”

“Kuroba-kun, is there any particular reason why you’re not at the park right now?” It was a young voice, more than likely a girl by the pitch and timbre.

Kaito was instantly on edge. He forced his voice to stay casual. “Is there any particular reason why I should be?”

“Now now, Kuroba-kun, I know you were excited about the heist last night, but you did promise the children. Going so far as to pretend you didn’t have plans to play soccer at the park?” She sniffed. “That’s a little low, even for you.”

“‘Kuroba-kun?’” Kaito repeated blankly.

“Right, Ishimoto-kun. Is that better?” She said sweetly, mocking him.

“Not really,” Kaito said. Now he had even _more_ questions.

“Get over here now, or I’ll make you regret it,” she said, hanging up on him.

Kaito glared at the screen of his phone. He now knew the reason behind that particular moniker. It still gave him no idea of who she was, other than she was probably someone that he knew.

Frowning, he unlocked the phone the strange girl had called him on. Opened the photos to find Aoko and Keiko with Kaito in the middle, held between the girls. Oddly, a selfie of him and Hakuba. Hakuba had a wide grin on his face, his arm slung around Kaito’s shoulder. Now he knew he was in an alternate universe. No other explanation made sense. Not with Hakuba smiling like they were friends.

The next photo was where he hit paydirt. He wasn’t in it, but there were familiar children, three of the Detective Boys he’d faced off against. But the cool and disconnected girl with the chestnut hair wasn’t there. Instead there was another girl, one with hair nearly down to her ankles, so dark brown that it looked black, but shimmered red in the sunlight. Cutting eyes, a sharp vulpine face softened by baby fat.

A face he knew all too well, though he hadn’t recognized the voice. If he would call anyone out of his acquaintances hellspawn, it would be Koizumi Akako.

Though she looked as young as he did.

And she’d called him by his real last name.

“What the hell?” he muttered, before taking off his fake glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose where the nose pieces had left indents.

“That is what I would like to know,” said a voice from the direction of his bed.

Kaito looked up.

-♠-

Honestly, the last thing Shinichi expected to see when he arrived at the little detective’s house was him picking the lock of the house next door. Ishimoto was so distracted he didn't notice the door didn't latch as he went inside and pulled it shut, making it easy for Shinichi to head inside as well.

Shinichi followed him as he paced through the house, his eyes wide and his breath quick and panicked. Shinichi didn’t see what was so upsetting to him, other than the fact there was a boy in those photos about his age who sort of looked like Ishimoto. A relative, perhaps? He also bore a striking similarity to Shinichi himself. But that wasn’t what made him familiar. Shinichi knew him from somewhere. He just couldn’t remember where exactly.

Even more strangely, he went straight to a bedroom as if he knew the path and started examining a portrait, and became more and more devastated as he progressed through his examination.

Shinichi was about to announce himself when a phone call led to a short but informative interaction. Just who was Kuroba-kun, and why did that name make Ishimoto react so?

“So you graduated from pickpocketing to breaking and entering, Detective?” Shinichi asked.

Ishimoto let out a yelp and jumped, dropping his glasses. “Gah! Don’t do that!” he said, clutching his chest. “And you’re one to talk about breaking and entering!”

“I suspect that if we keep pointing fingers, we’ll be here all day,” Shinichi said blithely. “I must say, I do have a few questions.” Without his glasses, he looked even more like the person who lived here.

“And you’re still an annoying brat. Of course you are,” Ishimoto said.

“Beg pardon?” Shinichi said. “How peculiar, a brat calling me a brat.”

He tilted his nose up in the air. “ _I_ never followed you home.” Then he frowned. “I never followed you inside.”

“Detective?” Shinichi said, thrown off again.

“Oh, right, that probably didn’t happen here.”

Shinichi was silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond to that. “Are you quite well?”

He stared past Shinichi, looking at nothing. He tucked his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around his legs.“I want to go home,” he said, clutching the kirin. Oddly, Shinichi didn’t remember seeing him pick it up. He sounded tired, and close to tears, though his eyes remained dry.

“Home?” Shinichi asked. “But I thought—” he turned towards the window showing the house next door.

Ishimoto laughed bitterly. He clutched the kirin tightly enough his knuckles were white. “They can't help. Not with this.”

“Why?” Shinichi asked, sitting down on the bed so he was level with him. He left his body posture open, nonthreatening.

“I’m not supposed to be here,” Ishimoto said.

Because that didn't sound ominous. “Oh?” Shinichi asked.

“It doesn't matter. I'm probably hallucinating or in a coma dream or something.” He let out a sigh. “Maybe I'm dead.”

“What makes you say that?” Shinichi was very worried now, for all he didn't show it. They had an understanding. A rivalry. Something approaching friendship, which is why he decided to check in on him. And for all each heist became more and more desperate as the timer ticked down and he didn't find what he was looking for, people like Hattori and the little detective made it fun.

Made the heists bearable despite what they were.

“Because I fell off the roof and became mini-Kaito and you're gallivanting after Pandora instead.”

Shinichi stiffened, his heart in his throat. From the satisfied grin, the detective had definitely caught his movements, as much as he tried to suppress it. “Thought so.” Too smug.

“Interesting. Mind telling me where you heard that?” Shinichi asked calmly over the pounding of his heart. Shinichi needed more information. And ‘became mini?’ His mind flickered to the pictures he’d seen.

“Oh, just family business turned into an idle hobby you know,” he said, his voice even and light. “One minute you're a just a normal high schooler with nothing on your mind but perfecting your latest magic trick, then the next thing you know, you're embroiled in a grand gem conspiracy with men in black shooting at you for funsies.

“Then, when you finally figure that out and get pretty good at the whole international jewel thief thing, you fall off a roof and suddenly the guy that used to kick soccer balls at you is running around like he's you.

“So yeah. I know about Pandora. I've spent the last eight months looking for it.”

“So you're telling me you're Kaitō Kid,” Shinichi said slowly. His gut churned. The men in black had never showed up when he was facing off against Ishimoto, so how had he known about them? The search for Pandora? Who was he, really?

“Did I stutter?” he snarked, crossing his arms and hunching in on himself and okay, maybe Shinichi had asked for it. “This place is insane. Sleeping Kogorō is the inspector of the high-profile crimes division, you're Kaitō Kid instead of the critic I face off with every now and again, I'm living with my childhood friend, a photo on my phone shows Hakuba happily hugging me and if that doesn't confirm that this is some kind of dream, I don't know what does. I'm not Ishimoto Toshirō or whoever.”

Shinichi took a moment to process that. “Who are you then?” he asked.

“My name is Kuroba Kaito. And I live here. Or I did.”

Shinichi's eyes flickered to the framed portrait on the desk, one of the teenager with what looked like his girlfriend—Nakamori Aoko of all people. He thought he looked familiar, and not just because he and Shinichi sort of looked alike. He _was_ that teen detective who'd gone missing.

That...actually made an absurd amount of sense. He was freakishly smart. As if he had the mind of an adult in the body of a child. A whole lot of things suddenly made sense.

“Looks like I still do,” Kuroba continued. “And if so, then who am I, really?” he wondered. “I just want to wake up,” he said, wrapping his arms even tighter across himself.

“Who am I, then?” Shinichi asked. “You called me by a name."

“Edogawa. Edogawa Conan.”

“That sounds like an alias,” Shinichi said, half to himself. Actually, Shinichi still had a fondness for detective fiction, even after everything that had happened. He could see himself using it.

“I wouldn't know,” Kuroba said. “You're just a brat that shows up every so often to my heists with that girl, Mōri Ran—”

Shinichi's heart stopped again as Kuroba continued speaking.

“—And Suzuki Sonoko, except here the museum isn't named after their conglomerate so I don't know what that's all about.”

Panic spiked. He knew about Sonoko, about _Ran_ , no one could link Ran and Kid, they already had his mother—

“Looks like I struck a nerve,” Kuroba said. “Who cares? It's not like I'm going to do anything with the information. It's probably not accurate anyway, who knows what my feverish mind has cooked up. Maybe if I go to sleep again I'll wake up where I'm supposed to be.”

“I don't think that's how it works, Detective,” Shinichi said faintly.

“Yeah, well, I'd go ask that red witch but—”

“Red witch?” Shinichi cuts him off. Surely he didn’t know about that, too.

“Yeah, did you have one that tried to kill you?” Kuroba, and Shinichi was beginning more and more to believe he was in fact who he claimed to be.

“Yes.” Though they were allies now. “And that mad scientist—”

“—With the robot?” Kuroba finished.

“You are me,” Shinichi breathed, more than a little stunned. His life the past year had been full of all manner of strange things, but this was by far the most unbelievable.

Kuroba just smiled faintly like it was obvious. Maybe it was to him, living it as he was. “Not quite. But close enough.”

“What happened to the little detective?” he asked.

“Probably giving your counterpart hell in my body,” he said. He opened his mouth to say more, when they heard footsteps outside the door. They looked at each other in panic, then Kuroba attempted to dive to the other side of the bed. Shinichi grabbed him one handed by the collar and took off his cap and ruffled his own hair with the other hand.

A familiar woman poked her head in. “K-Kaito?” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “You’re home.”

“Oh hey, Aoko. What’s up?” Shinichi said.

“B-Bakaito!” she yelled, charging for him, her hands in fists. Shinichi thought she was going to hit him. Instead, she hugged him, wrapping her arms around his neck and sobbing.

He tentatively patted her back, looking over her shoulder to find Kuroba staring at her with such an expression of pain he could feel it in the air, intense and palpable.


	4. [three]

-♣-

“Kaito,” she said, burying her face into Edogawa's shoulder.

Aoko…

Kaito felt lost, seeing Aoko cry. Helpless. He itched to take a flower out, knowing how much it always cheered her up, but he could do nothing like this.

Edogawa, or whatever his name was, looked as lost as Kaito felt, patting her back awkwardly and looking over her shoulder at Kaito with panic in his eyes.

“You came back,” she said.

“Not for long,” Edogawa said.

Aoko jerked away like she was scalded. “I didn’t mean what I said that night, Kaito, please believe me. I don’t care if you get fan mail, and I know you can’t help what your fangirls do—”

“You think I’d leave over something so silly? Nah, Aoko, something came up that night, that’s all. Have a little more faith in me, okay?” Edogawa schooled his face into something serious. “I got wrapped up in a big case, and it’s dangerous.”

“Kaito…”

Edogawa stood up, hands in his pockets. “I need to get going. I’ve already stayed too long.”

Aoko blinked. “But you just got here!’ she said.

“Just came to pick up something,” he said, grabbing Kaito by the waist and holding him by his side, parallel to the ground. Kaito fumed at the indignity. 

“Shiro-kun? You know Kaito?” Aoko asked.

“Sure!” Kaito said, mimicking that syrupy voice he often heard Edogawa use around adults. “Kaito-nii-chan and me know each other really well!”

Aoko looked between them, uncertain. “If it’s so dangerous, why are you taking Shiro-kun?”

“Don't worry Aoko, I'll have the brat back soon enough. Lock up, would you?”

“But—” Aoko protested.

Edogawa was already out the door. Once he was out of sight, he hefted Kaito up under his arm and booked it.

“Hey!” Kaito yelped at the rough handling, but Edogawa didn't slow down until a few blocks later, setting Kaito down beside a park bench.

He let out a sigh. “That was awkward.”

“You're telling me?” Kaito asked, unconsciously trying to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes.

“What did you do to her?”

“Nothing. Like I said, I don't belong here. I have no idea. You have more idea about what's going on than I do. What's the deal with Inspector Nakamori?”

“He's a private investigator now,” Edogawa said. “Comes to heists sometimes. Still trying to pin a murder on me, so I avoid him."

“Murder? Kaito said sharply.

“I didn't!” Edogawa said, raising his hands. “It was just a big misunderstanding.”

“Why? What did you do?”

“ _I_ did nothing. It is a long story, and I don't think it's one suitable for little ears.”

“Really? If I'm anything like the you in my universe, I'm probably surrounded by murders all the time. And that's depressing. I don't even want to _think_ about it. I don't want to be a critic," he whined. "I work better as an artist.”

“A con artist, maybe.”

“Heh,” Kaito said. ”But seriously, what happened to Nakamori?”

Edogawa was hesitating. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, “My father was a writer. He liked mysteries. Thought about doing it professionally one day, but before he could really turn it into a career, he met a woman.”

“What's that have to do with anything?” Kaito asked, unsure of where he was going with it.

Edogawa gritted his teeth. “Forget it. I need to go,” he said.

“No,” Kaito said, grabbing his wrist and squeezing. “I want to know.” He hadn't meant it negatively.

Edogawa turned intense eyes on him, studying him. Like he was unfolding and exposing all his secrets. It was hard to breathe.

“Please,” Kaito asked over the sound of his beating heart. He wasn't sure he liked that look, the way it pried him apart.

He looked away, and Kaito could breathe again. “She said that she was an aspiring actress, and she was. She was also one of the top jewel thieves in the world, though my father didn't know that at the time.”

“The Phantom Lady,” Kaito said,

“Yeah,” Edogawa agreed, giving him another _look_. Kaito suppressed a shiver. It kind of scared him. “There was a costume contest in Paris where he was the plus one of the same actress, and my father wore a suit based on one of his unpublished novel's characters. The villain, actually. And then he noticed a woman in a catsuit and a mask entering the Eiffel Tower.”

“And let me guess,” Kaito said. “She was supposed to steal something on display, but it turned out that she was being manipulated by a group of forgers.”

“Something like that, yes. But this organization wouldn’t let her go.”

“And so your father stepped in.”

“And so my father stepped in. Became Kaitō Kid to draw them away from her. Learned disguise from my mother. Magic from my mother's disguise teacher.”

“And what this has to do with Nakamori?”

Edogawa was silent for a long time. At length, he said, “It’s the way he grieves. My father stepped in front of a bullet for a member of the task force, but did not anticipate a second gunman. He did everything he could to save the officer's life, but it wasn't enough.

“But Nakamori saw my father covered in blood and came to his own conclusions. Cost him his badge eventually.”

Nakamori could be very single minded if he wanted to be. “I see,” Kaito said. “It seems rather like how my parents met as well. A few differences, but very similar.”

“Do you know if—” Edogawa began, then trailed off.

“What?” Kaito said.

“It's probably different, anyway. No point in comparison.”

“No, ask me.”

“What about my mother? Do you know anything about her?” Edogawa asked.

Kaito thought for a long moment. “She's an actress and a fan of Sakatomo Ryōma? Played his sister in a jidaigeki?”

His face fell. “I see,” he said.

“Why do you ask?”

Instead of answering him, Edogawa asked, “Why did you take up,” a dog walker came into hearing distance, “you know?”

“Because I found my father's workshop. Saw his assistant doing his job and knew I could do it better.” They both watched the dog walker leave hearing distance. "Men in black. When he wouldn't steal something for them, they killed him."

“Your father's dead?” Edogawa asked. “They killed him?” His voice cracked.

“Yeah.” Kaito considers him. “Why were you asking me about your mother?” He feared he already knew.

Edogawa said, voice low, “They have her.” He opened his mouth to say more, but a whirlwind of red and black came out of the bushes, intent on Kaito. “Kuroba!” Akako started out strong, only to catch sight of Edogawa. “...kun?”

Blood drained from her face, and she backed up until she was against the tree. “You,” she breathed.

Akako wasn't the only one taken aback. Edogawa was visibly startled, but then he did a half-hearted wave and said, “Yo.”

Akako's fear didn't abate. If anything, it became worse. “She knows disguise! Kuroba-kun, get away, he's one of _them!_ "

“Eh, not on purpose,” Kaito said. “Anyway what's up, Akako?”

Akako stared.

“Wait, your name is Akako, right?” Kaito asked. “You're not like Edogawa here?”

“My name has _never been_ Edogawa, my dear detective.” He approached Akako slowly, kneeling down to her level, offering her a white rose. “Please, don't be so frightened on my account. I promise you, young lady, I don't mean you any harm.”

Akako calmed down long enough to take the rose, though she still watched Edogawa, suspicious. Then she whirled on Kaito. “You! I can’t believe you brought Kaitō Kid into this!” she hissed. “I wasn't concerned until you didn't appear to play soccer with the children, and then you were strange over the phone, and now you show up with that thief in tow! What's wrong with you! I told you! They _will_ kill anyone they think you might have told! You’ve as good as signed his death warrant. And you're letting him walk around as you! Reckless moron!”

Kaito blinked. “Told what?”

“It wasn't funny the first time, and it's not funny now, Kuroba-kun!”

“I don’t find your distress funny, Akako. I never have,” Kaito said. “Even when you tried to kill me.”

“I—what?” she asked.

“Mmm, you might have led with you don’t remember anything, Detective,” Edogawa said.

Akako looked between them.

“I remember just fine. It’s just rather difficult to remember events I wasn’t here for.”

Edogawa inclined his head. “Fair point.”

“And I'm nothing so boring as a detective,” Kaito adds.

“I'd normally agree with that, but even as yourself, you've never been boring,” Edogawa said.

“Explanation,” Akako said, interrupting them with tiny hands on her hips as she glared at Kaito like this was somehow his fault. She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “ _Now_."

-♠-

Shinichi, too would like to learn more than bits and pieces about Kuroba's life. The parallels so far had been _fascinating_. The irony of a thief named Kaito, even if it was pronounced a little differently, didn't escape him.

He wondered about his own name too now, a pun on 'one truth.' Was he made to be a detective? But the idea people had predetermined fates by names? Nah.

“Well,” Kuroba said. “The long and short of it is I'm a displaced Kaitō Kid.”

“You really believe that,” the girl said. Shinichi had known her as Sensui Akane, but Kuroba had called her Akako and she'd responded. Might give a guy a complex, surrounded by so many aliases.

“Because it's true. I got magicked here,” Kuroba said. “I was minding my own business.”

“Magic?” she scoffed. “You can't be serious.”

“C'mon. I know you because of the red magic stuff you tried to kill me with. Why would I make up something so bizarre?”

Akako. Akai. That correlation made sense, what with the names. And now that he thought of it, he hadn't spoken to Akai in a while.

As matter of fact, he'd been suspiciously silent. Shinichi frowned. This felt like his work. It would fall in line with his own attempt to kill Shinichi. The only question was his motive.

“I cannot ever claim to understand your mind,” Sensui said.

“That's a cop out if I ever heard one,” Kuroba said. “Besides, do you know how weird it is to see you as a little brat. What's going on with that, anyway? You're obviously older.”

“And I suppose you just forgot that too.”

“You can't forget a memory you never had,” Kuroba said.

“Can't we get back to the point?” Shinichi asked. “While it's fun watching you go back and forth, I'd like to continue our conversation.” He curled his hands into fists so tightly that they shook. This could be a lead on his mother and they were just standing around doing nothing!

Kuroba dropped his nonchalant façade, looked as serious as he'd ever seen him. Jaw tight, mouth a sharp slash across his face. “Yeah. Me too. I don't know much about this place, but I do know that's something that can't be allowed to continue.”

“What?” Sensui asked.

“Go away, Akako, the grown-ups are talking now.” He turned back to Shinichi. “I have a plan.”

“With missing information?” Shinichi asked, skeptical. “You can't think everything is the same.”

“That won’t matter. Think of it as setting bait in a trap. I can serve as a distraction to draw them out. Not sure how yet, but the idea is bring them out into the spotlight. That's why you still make the heists public. Even under such constraints.”

“True,” Shinichi admitted.

“Interesting,” Sensui said. “You believe him, Kaitō Kid.”

Kuroba started to speak, but Shinichi beat him to it and bared his teeth in a savage grin. “Too many things are accurate, young lady. It's a sure bet.”

“Who am I in your little world, then?” Sensui asked, turning to Kuroba.

“Koizumi Akako. My teenage classmate. You tried to kill me when your Eros magic wouldn't work on me. Now we're allies? Friends, maybe? Something like that, anyway.”

“You really don't remember?” she asked.

“I said that already, didn't I?” Kuroba said, growing annoyed. “One minute I was on the roof minding my own business, next thing I know I woke up shrunk and dressed as the detective brat.”

Her brow furrowed. Then the next thing Shinichi knew, he was being pulled along with surprising strength. He wasn't the only one; Kuroba was being pulled along too. Out of the park and down a busy street, then into a bar called the Blue Parrot.

As they entered, Kuroba took one look at the blond, tanned barman, jerked his hand out of Sensui's grip, and pulled a mask over Shinichi's head. “Just in case,” he whispered as he blended the edges of his mask to his skin.

If nothing else confirmed this was a version of Phantom Thief Kid...he'd found his kit and changed his looks in less than ten seconds.

Sensui pulled them behind the bar and into the back room and through another door. She locked the door behind her. “Doctor! Doctor, wake up!” she said as Shinichi ripped off the mask and looked around.

The doctor lived in a set of rooms adjacent to the bar. Two doors in the distance probably led to a bathroom and a bedroom. Half the main room was set up with computers and lab equipment, while the other half had everything a mechanical engineer could ever want for inventing.

She kicked the back of the worn sofa, and then with a snort a thin balding man woke up, his glasses crooked.

“Akako-kun!” he said delightedly, then he rocked to his feet. He swiveled to Shinichi, and tears welled up in his eyes. “Bocchama,” he breathed. “It worked?”

“I'm not—” “He's not—” Shinichi and Sensui said at the same time.

“That isn't him, that is Kaitō Kid,” Sensui continued. “He hasn't tried the new formula yet.”

“Kaitō Kid?” he asked, peering at him curiously.

“Jii-chan! Nice to see you're looking hale and hearty in this universe, too!” said Kuroba. The old man blinked in confusion. “What formula?” he asked Sensui.

She nodded at Shinichi. “Since you brought him into this, and told him too much already, I will explain. And you, thief. For you own life, and the lives of all around you, this is not to leave this room.”

What followed was an incredibly convoluted and unbelievable explanation. Crime syndicates. Men in black hunting the detective. And the most impossible of all, a deaging drug. Invented by Sensui—Koizumi, no less.

Men in black. Perhaps he and his dear detective had been aligned in motive after all, for all they hadn't realized it.

But by the look on Kuroba's face, he'd come to a realization as well. An unpleasant one, the way his face twisted. “You said you invented it. And you had code names. And yours was ‘Sherry.’”

“Yes,” she confirmed. Kuroba’s frown deepened. “I thought you said you didn’t remember anything,” Sensui said.

“I don't,” was his cryptic reply. “But suddenly a whole host of things where I come from finally make sense. That antidote will turn me back into my teenaged self?”

“For six hours. Every pill afterwards effectively halves the time as your body builds resistance,” Sensui said.

“More than enough time. It's a simple bait and switch.” He looked up at Shinichi, devious grin on his face. “Ready for a little friendly competition between thieves, Detective?”

Oh, but he was excited. “Am I _ever._ ”

But also a little sad. This was _his_ detective’s truth, even if he was seeing it through the mirror of the person sharing his body. Shinichi would like to face the original Kuroba Kaito on an even playing field one day. To see how they would match up, thief and detective. To see him as he _was_ , not just the act he put due to circumstances beyond his control.

The planning session went on deep into the evening, and Kuroba kept studying him. Shinichi couldn’t figure out what the sudden scrutiny was all about. Koizumi had only revealed information about the detective Kuroba here, after all.  

Eventually, he dropped off the sleepy Kuroba on the doorstep with a press of the doorbell before fleeing.

He really didn't want to deal with whatever was going on between Nakamori Aoko and Kuroba Kaito.

It was scarier than facing Snake.

Not to mention he had a call to make. A certain someone's hands were all over this.


	5. [four]

-♣-

After a minor setback (a rather poor explanation to Aoko about a chance encounter), the rest of the buildup to the heist had worked beautifully.

A series of notices in the paper. A teasing note left directly on Mōri Kogorō's desk while he was there with none of the task force the wiser until they'd made their escape. Turns out being this small was good for something

And the _pièce de résistance:_ the jewel. It had been a little tricky, given they had just over a week to work on it, but with the help of Jii, they'd managed to make a facsimile of the object, accurate enough to fool even a jewel thief like Snake under casual examination.

A phoenix crown, a large yellow sapphire nestled on top between four golden dragons, the crown itself glittering with inlaid gems, gilded phoenix feathers, strings of pearls dangling down. The crown of a long dead Chinese empress, Xi Lingshi.

It hadn't been Kaito’s first choice, but a talk with Shinichi led him to another difference between here and the world he'd come from.

Here, they heavily encouraged the theft of jeweled priceless artifacts over solitary grand gems. So far, Shinichi had returned every single one, but the Snake and his ilk were growing increasingly impatient over his returning the gems. He feared they'd escalate before he could rescue his mother. So it was now or never.

Kaito was all for it.

During Akako's explanation, Kaito had realized that Edogawa Conan was Kudō Shinichi. Which meant the woman that black organization had kidnapped was Aunt Yukiko.

Parallel universe or not, Kaito was not going to let that stand.

(It also meant the boy he'd “married” when he was younger was the Kid Killer, but Kaito was deliberately not thinking of that right now.

Okay. He lied. Shin-chan had been a very cute bride. They'd fought over the veil, and Shin-chan had won.)

He looked over. Kudō Shinichi was still pretty cute. The white bespoke suit reminded him of what he'd just been thinking about, and he blushed imagining him in the veil.

“Something on your mind, Detective?” Shinichi asked, raising a brow, and Kaito laughed.

“Just thinking about the heist,” he said. If only he knew.

“And that makes you blush?”

“I’m giddy with excitement,” Kaito said, deflecting. “So sue me.”

“I just might,” Shinichi said, teasing him.

Kaito sneaked another look at him. He was looking down at Kaito with a soft grin, the playful air of laughter surrounding him. His heart thudded in his chest. Kaito had to look away.

“Let's just get down there,” Kaito said. “We haven't got all night.”

“Your concern is very touching but this isn't my first,” Shinichi said. “A little more faith, if you please.”

Kaito slapped his chest, leaving behind a tracking button. Just in case.

"I've been meaning to ask, but you're not worried about getting home?" Shinichi asked.

"That can come later, your mother's trapped now."

"Why do you care so much?" Shinichi asked him.

Kaito didn't answer. He knew he wasn't the one he'd played with, but things were different now. With a careless wave, he left Shinichi in his hiding place and made his way across the museum to the exhibit where the Yellow Empress's Golden Phoenix crown rested.

It was obscenely crowded with task force members and a roped off crowd. He slipped around legs and approached the display case, ready to enact phase one. “Oi, Kuro!” said a voice, snatching him up.

Kaito twisted in his grip, hand falling to his dart watch, until he looked up and saw the face of Hakuba.

“Hakuba,” he said, annoyed and hiding his panic. “I told you not to call me that! What are you doing here?”

“Aoko-kun was worried,” Hakuba said. “I think she has a right to be. She says you haven’t been acting like yourself this past week.” He leaned in, whispering. “She also says she saw you _and_ Shiro-kun. What’s going on with that, and why wasn’t I invited?”

“I needed to do something, Akako helped me out. Give me a break, it’s been a hard week.”

“Having to do with those guys?” Hakuba guessed.

“Yeah. Can you put me down?” Kaito asked.

“Nah, it’s easier to talk to you like this, Kuroba,” he said, and shifted him to his hip. “Wouldn’t want you to get a swelled head.”

“This is embarrassing. I’m not an actual child, you know,” Kaito said, scowling.

“C’mon, can’t you see more easily now?” Hakuba said. It pained Kaito to admit it, but he was right.

“Where’s Watson? You don’t have her with you?” Kaito asked, looking around. Hakuba being at the heist location complicated things. Kaito had to find out how much. If he had his hawk with him—

“She’s outside with Nan. With such a crowd, I didn’t want to spook her.” Hakuba whistled. “Kaitō Kid’s sure going all out for this one, isn’t he? Everyone's here. Including that hot-head from Osaka.”

Because Shinichi had challenged him personally.

Kaito glanced over to see Hattori Heiji, Inspector Mōri (Kaito would never get over that), and Nakamori.

They were part of it too. Hopefully, they would be enough to keep the crowd safe in case something went wrong.

The antidote to the apotoxin burned a hole in his pocket, and he itched to use it. He didn't know how the detective withstood the temptation all the time.

(He still couldn't get over the fact that the little detective had been Kudō Shinichi all along.)

"Yeah, I admit I'm surprised to see him myself, but he calls himself Kid's rival." It was interesting to see what had changed and what hadn't. "Rarely ever comes down from Osaka, though. I wonder why he's here now."

“That skylight is his point of entry,” Hakuba said.

A fair assumption to make and one that they were going for. "More than likely," Kaito agreed. "It fits his pattern of behavior in the past. But there's something that bothers me," Kaito said.

"You noticed it too?" Hakuba asked.

"The venue, the location, the placement of the exhibits, and the proximity to the phoenix crown when compared to the brochure…" Kaito said, letting his nervousness about Hakuba's presence seep into his voice to lend veracity to his act.

As if to highlight his words, the lights flickered, came back on, then dimmed down again.

The signal. Shinichi was moving forward with the plan regardless. Given what Kaito knew was at stake, he didn't blame him.

And Kaito had a Hakuba-shaped problem carrying him around.

Two spotlights turned on, waving around the exhibit before finally focusing on the display case. The canned sound of a drumroll.

A puff of smoke, a loud pop, and then feathers drifting down, bathing the room in white.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" coming from multiple points. Hidden speakers.

Kid rose from the ground, the glass case of the crown cradled carefully in his hands, cape streaming behind him like he was the protagonist in some play.

At the same time, Kaito had his own act to play, and so he squirmed out of Hakuba's grip, passed through legs of others in the crowd, and ducked under the rope and around the police cordon.

"Hey!" Mōri tried to protest as Kaito entered the heist scene, but Shinichi sent out a little mechanical dove to tie Hattori, Mōri, and Nakamori together. It laughed maniacally as it did.

Another smoke bomb filled the exhibit with colored smoke, and Shinichi whirled about, coating every nearby riot officer with an adhesive as they made to grab him. With a particularly cheeky grin, he jumped to the top of a nearby case, and tipped his hat at the task force as the men nearest to him stuck to the floor.

Kaito had already raced into the melee, one hand on his glasses, tracking Shinichi through the smoke with the use of the nifty button. Kaito didn't know how much his current equipment translated to the universe he was from, but he had to admit it was pretty neat. His Shinichi was lucky.

The bowtie, too. Knowing his voice was too high to imitate an adult properly, Kaito grabbed it, held it to his mouth, and said, "He went this way!" in Mōri's voice. "Get him!"

"No, you fools!" came Nakamori's voice as Shinichi spoke. "He's over here!"

It was beautiful chaos. Kaito couldn't have done better himself.

He grabbed the crown and switched out the glass case with the decoy.

-♠-

Shinichi paused for a moment to look over at the broken expression on Hakuba's face.

He'd caught that, then, in the clear moment in the smoke. He hoped gluing him to the wall would have helped Kuroba out, but it seemed that it had only given him a better view of the room.

Pity, that. Well, the officers were nice and coated, so it was time for part two.

He whistled sharply. He caught Hakuba's eye and grinned, then right on time, Agasa hit the secondary switch from somewhere in the crowd.

The result was glorious.

Fans which had been disguised for days as a new modern art sculpture turned on. Feathers coated the task force and anyone else that strayed too close.

Shinichi then hip checked the barrel of glue now that the crown was safe, knocking it to the floor, turning the room into a complete mess.

When he saw that the case with the crown had made it safely to the switchover with Agasa (so many people never looked down, thus the detective was perfect for that job) he jumped up on one of the other cases to avoid the glue, did a backflip, threw the grapnel with unerring precision, and swung across the glue and feather coated floor like some kind of action hero to the stairs on the other side of the room.

A soccer ball flew at him; he looked back for just a moment to see Kuroba following him with faux anger on his face.

Shinichi winked, waved two fingers, and darted up the stairs, Kuroba following close behind.

Once they left the view of the cameras, in a deserted side maintenance room, Shinichi said, "The mechanism still working? You ready, Kuroba?"

With an inscrutable expression, he replied, "Yeah. Call me Kaito."

Shinichi frowned. Kuroba—Kaito—had been looking at him strangely all week. Glances with odd weight. Shinichi had no clue as to what they meant. "Then you can refer to me as Shinichi."

Kaito grinned. "Sure thing, Shin-chan!" He stripped, then took the first pill.

He fell to the floor groaning, clutching at his heart. A choked off scream as he ground his teeth together to bite back the sound.

"Kaito?" Shinichi said, kneeling beside him but hesitant to touch. He didn’t want to hurt him, but the sheer agony lining the small detective’s form was not something he’d expected. Kaito grabbed at Shinichi weakly, who gripped his forearm in return, as though trying to hold the child together, when the limb under his hand grew rapidly. Hot steam surrounded Kaito, rising from beneath his skin, and Shinichi let go, stunned as the child aged ten years before his eyes like a time lapsed film sped up.

He stood to his feet, shaky like a newborn, and pulled on the spare Kid suit Shinichi offered him, smoothing down his hair. It was uncanny how good he looked, how natural it felt seeing him in the suit. For lack of a better word, it suited him. "Time to catch a Snake," he said, baring his teeth.

Shinichi matched his grin, savage and fierce. "Oh, _let's_."

"What in the world's goin' on here?" A Kansai dialect bellowed from behind them. Ah, his erstwhile best friend and greatest enemy. It was good seeing him again. "Why are there two of ya?"

"That's what I would like to know as well," a calm voice that could only be Hakuba followed.

Both he and Kaito turned in unison, still grinning. "A magician never reveals their hand," they said together.

"I know what you're doing," Hakuba said. He looked heartbroken.

"Do you?" Kaito replied, just as serious. "Go on ahead, Kid, I'll take care of this."

"As you wish, Kid," Shinichi said, giving a little bow. "Don't take too long kidding around."

Kaito put a hand against his chest as if to say, 'me?' and Shinichi left him to it.

Though he kept his face blank, inside his stomach was churning. It was one thing to make the plan, divide it into parts, and send the notice, but it was another thing to go through with it.

Shinichi walked out on the roof.

“I have it,” he said to the empty air.

“Prove it,” a voice said from somewhere near the helipad.

“Not without her,” Shinichi said. Though he tried to appear nonchalant, he couldn’t hide the strain in his voice.

“Hmph,” Snake said, stepping out from behind a storage shed. He held a slim tablet in his hand, and he tossed it over. Shinichi scrambled to catch it before it fell to the ground and shattered. On the screen, his mother was tied up and gagged in her catsuit, hair over her face, domino mask in place.

Shinichi looked up, furious, grip tight around the tablet. He knew they wouldn’t bring her with them, but to not show her face... “This isn’t what we agreed on,” he said.

“Take it or leave it,” Snake said. “This is your one chance.” He smirked because he knew he had him. More of his men stepped out, surrounding him.

Shinichi trembled with anger.

Movement on screen. Shinichi’s mother shifted, looking through her hair. She winked, then shifted her wrists just enough so that Shinichi could see she had a thin blade.

Anger turned to elation. It _was_ her. "Fine," he ground out. "You win."

He tapped the transmitter against his wrist. " _Shinichi-kun, keep stalling, I've almost got the signal_ ," Agasa said.

Shinichi slowly took a step forward. Reached into the glass case and pulled out the fabricated crown, being very gentle with it.

Held it up to the moon. The inner portion glowed. "Satisfied?" he said.

"Never," Snake said, and fired at him.

A lot of things happened at once. The bullet hit his chest, digging into the kevlar and spreading percussive force across his chest. He fell to his knees, biting the capsule he’d held in his mouth as the blood squib burst and coated the white in red.

The door behind him opened as he fell backwards to hide the lack of an exit wound. More gunshots flew over his head as Hattori and Hakuba burst out of the roof access. Snake scooped up the crown as Shinichi closed his eyes.

“The hell?” Hattori said. Shinichi heard him ducking behind the nearby stack of crates as Hakuba tripped over Shinichi’s ‘dead’ body.

The rotors of the helicopter on the pad starting roaring, and Snake hopped into the cockpit.

“No honor between thieves, huh?” Hakuba shouted, looking over at Shinichi, who'd cracked open an eye.

“I take offense at that,” Kaito shouted back.

"What? How did you get outta that?" Hattori yelled.

“Please. A simple pair of handcuffs and a few easy knots?” Kaito raised an eyebrow. “You should up your game, Detective.”

“Now I know you ain’t Kid—"

“Can’t we all focus on the shooter that’s trying to get away?” Shinichi asked, sitting up, dusting himself off. “He almost killed me.”

Hattori gaped.

“On it!” Kaito said, running, leaping off the roof and barely grabbing hold of the helicopter's landing skid with one hand.

Shinichi’s heart leapt in his throat as the move caused the helicopter to shift, but Kaito held on tight, looping a strap around one of the skids, plastering himself to the bottom of the helicopter as it ascended.

"He's crazy!" Hakuba said. "That idiot!"

"I know!" Shinichi said, voice nonchalant, though inside his stomach still swooped low at Kaito’s antics. Touching his finger to his ear, he switched channels. "I'm done. Bring it around, Black Cat."

" _Affirmative_ ," Miyano said in his ear. " _Fifteen seconds, clear the LZ_."

Shinichi grabbed a detective in each hand by their collar and jerked them backwards as the helicopter approached to give it room enough to land.

The door slid open. “Well, are you coming or not, Kid-kun?” Miyano Shiho said coolly. “They’re getting away.”

“You know I’m a better pilot, Cat,” Shinichi said.

She rolled her eyes and stood. “Be my guest,” she said as she handed him her headset. “Don’t break my baby,” she said.

Shinichi grinned. “You know me, I’m always careful.”

“And your tagalongs?” she said.

Hakuba and Hattori had followed him in.

"How do you know how to fly a helicopter?" Hakuba asked.

"I learned it in Hawaii!" Shinichi said brightly. 

"I don't know what you're doin' but I highly suspect it's illegal. How d'you even have access to a helicopter, anyway?" Hattori said. “What organization are you with?”

Miyano just smiled and moved to the rear of the cockpit, elegantly buckling herself in.

"You're following him, correct?" Hakuba said to Shinichi. “How did you convince him to work with you?”

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Shinichi said, and grabbed the cyclic stick. "Buckle up or get out. We've a thief to catch."

He pressed a button, and the smartwatch on his wrist started beeping.

"It wasn't the real crown," Hakuba guessed. "You placed a tracking device inside it."

"Ding ding! You're learning, Hakubaka!"

"Quite."


	6. [five]

-♣-

Okay, so hanging on the underside of a helicopter hadn't been the best of ideas, but Kaito was pretty good at rolling with things, and making the best of it anyway. His body still ached all over from that hell of a cure.

It was cold, too, and while they weren't quite at cloud cover, the damp was chilling Kaito to his bones. It made his grip shaky on the cold metal, even through his gloves, though at least his other hand had the benefit of being insulated by the rubber.

It was a long way down, too. He looked down and—yup, there was the helicopter Shinichi had promised Kaito he'd have. Given the things he'd learned about this place, he wasn't surprised about any of Shinichi's other connections. Jii had known a guy who knew a guy, and it seemed like Shinichi just knew a guy. Or in this case, a cool eyed little girl who wasn't so little in this universe.

The helicopter with Shinichi was below and the the slightest bit behind, flying underneath it in its blind spot.

Anyway, he was supposed to be in the helicopter, not on the helicopter, but it would have to do. All he had to do was hold on until they reached the location where Shinichi’s mother was being held.

But as he moved to get a better grip on the skids, the helicopter yawed hard to the right, nearly dislodging Kaito. The door slid open, and suddenly above the roar of the rotors, Kaito heard automatic gunfire as one of Snake’s minions shot wildly towards the helicopter below. The sudden movement must have caused someone inside to notice the tail.

Gritting his teeth, and deliberately not looking down, Kaito moved forward on the skids, making his way slowly towards the open door. More gunfire caused him to duck down, pressing himself against the bottom. The helicopter in pursuit slowed down, falling far back.

When it subsided, Kaito crawled forward again.

Moving to the cockpit was going to be tricky. He wished he could just throw some knockout gas in there, but he didn’t want to kill anyone, nor plummet to the ground before he could gain control of the cyclic, so that limited his options significantly.

The hard way, then.

The minion was still firing. Kaito would only get one chance at this. He took a deep breath, swallowed the fear, and jumped inside on a wave of adrenaline right as the helicopter yawed back left. He grabbed the automatic rifle and tossed it out the open door, pulling out his knockout spray and giving the minion a face full of it. He did the same to the other one, throwing out their (very illegal) gun before a cold barrel pressed against his temple, and he froze as he heard the sound of a trigger cock.

“I thought that was too easy,” Snake said from behind him.

“You should invest in better quality minions,” Kaito said, heart in his throat.

“It will be a delight to kill you again, this time in front of her,” he said.

“Why wait? Why not do it here?” Kaito said.

“Ricochet. I’m not stupid.”

“Uh huh,” Kaito muttered. Snake jabbed the gun harder against his head, and Kaito said, “Please. You just said you’re not going to do it.”

“No, but I can do this,” he said, and pistol whipped Kaito in the face. A gold flash, a chime of bells, then everything went dark.

Surprisingly, he woke up tied up, not on the execution block as he would have expected. He cased the room for a moment. It was modern. Square couches, sleek tables. A trussed up woman in a catsuit and a domino mask in the corner, which really put the room in vogue. He supposed all the villainous lairs had to have them.

Camera, somewhat of a problem but he could deal with it.

Morons. They hadn’t even tied him up properly. Didn’t even get the items in the hidden lining in his suit. Amateurs. These guys were supposed to be professional thieves? His hands were tied tightly together, but he was able to contort his wrists enough to rip the loose stitching and pull out a carpet blade. It sawed through the rope with ease.

“Took you long enough, Shin-chan” the woman said.

Kaito turned his head. “Just wanted to enjoy the scenery, my dear Phantom Lady.”

“You’re not Kaitō Kid,” she said, narrowing her eyes.

“Not this Kaitō Kid, no, but we’re working on that. They’ve probably figured out by now that the crown was a decoy too, so if you want to make your move, they should be here in three,” he held up three fingers, “two, one…”

Right as he reached one, the door slammed open. Yukiko burst out of her ropes. Kaito let his fall and leapt forward towards the pile of tricks they had taken off him.

One of the guards said, “Hey!” but Yukiko brained him with her chair while Kaito pinned the other guard to the wall with cards from his card gun before gassing him.

They looked at each other in approval. “I got mine first,” Kaito said. “So I won.”

“No, I’d say I’d got mine first,” Yukiko said. “I won.”

More guards streamed into the room. They looked at one another again. “Best two out of three?” Kaito asked her.

“You’re on,” she said with a grin.

And then it was.

In a mess of black suits and bodies, they took down every single one in a whirl of fists and cards and tricks, leaving both of them standing above a room filled with moaning, groaning bodies.

Kaito shorted out the the cameras with a few more shots from his card gun. “Thanks for the help, Aunt Yukiko,” he said.

“Aunt Yukiko?” she asked, tilting her head. “Wait, doesn’t that make you—”

“I grow increasingly tired of you,” Snake said. He had something in his hand. It looked like a detonator. The other held the crown. He dropped it to the ground and stepped on it.

“Yeah, I’d have to say the feeling is mutual,” Kaito said. “You’re not going to blow up the building with your men inside, are you?”

“They knew the risks.” He pulled a gun on Yukiko when she made to move. “I don’t think so.”

She stepped back, holding up her hands.

“That’s what I thought. Now I’m going to leave, and you’re going to let me,” Snake said, backing out of the room.

The fact the place was rigged to blow was not...ideal. And the worst of it was Kaito’s hands were tied.

His heart lurched, and he fell to his knees. His body went numb; he was sweating. It felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. It beat again, sharply, sending pain throughout his body.

Yukiko ran to his side as Kaito cried out. “You okay, Kai-chan?” she asked, rubbing his back. Snake took the opportunity to run out of the room.

“I’m fine,” he gasped out, swallowing another cry. He dug around for the second pill and found it, but it dropped out of his trembling hands.

Outside, they heard a man shout in fury, and then a dull thud.

But Kaito couldn’t focus on it, scrambling for the pill and forcing it into his mouth.

The world whited out.

-♠-

The helicopter landed in a half empty lot just outside of what looked like a small residential office building. “Wait here,” he told Miyano. “This won’t take long.”

“It’s what I always do, isn’t it?” she said, but she gave him a thumbs up.

“Who’s she?” Hattori asked for the nth time. “What’s going on? How do you have clearance for this?”

“I would like to know that as well,” Hakuba said. “Just what are you involved in, Kid?”

“Oh, this and that,” Shinichi said. “You know how it is, need-to-know. Maybe you’ll have the clearance one day.”

“Phantom Thief Kid,” a man in a creepy black and red cloak intoned near the door. He had a hood pulled over his head. _Finally_. Shinichi knew this man very well.

“Late as usual, I was wondering where you had gotten off to,” Shinichi said. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

"A witch is neither early nor late. He arrives precisely when he means to," Akai Shūichi said.

"You say that as if you _aren't_ a line stealing hack," Shinichi said.

Akai inclined his head. "Well, we all have our talents," he said serenely.

"I called you a week ago," Shinichi said.

"I know."

"You're plotting again," Shinichi accused, pointing his finger.

"When am I not?"

“A witch?” Hattori asked.

“Yes, your skepticism is quite entertaining,” Akai said. “Detectives one and two weren’t part of the plan,” he said.

“They wanted to come along. I like them,” Shinichi said. Besides, he did need need someone aligned more closely to the “official” channels to corroborate. The thieves’ ring would get their due either way.

“So glad to have your endorsement,” Hattori said.

“Where is Kai—the other phantom thief,” Hakuba asked.

“You’re really bad at this, aren’t you?” Shinichi said as they entered the building. Hakuba shifted uncomfortably.

Oddly, the building seemed deserted. The lobby was bright and clean but empty.

“Somethin’s not right,” said Hattori. “You’re sure this is where they went?”

“This is where the tracking signal led, yes,” Shinichi said. “Should be this floor.” As if confirming his statement, gunshots rang out.

“Alright then,”  Hattori said, unhooking the velvet ropes from a classy looking stanchion and testing its weight, swinging it around a few times.

“Sure you know how to use that?” Hakuba asked. Hattori scoffed.

They continued looking.

A few more steps and they heard shouting, footsteps in their direction.

A man in a handlebar mustache turned the corner, waving his gun.

“Not this guy again,” Hattori said.

“You!” he shouted at Shinichi. “Why won’t you DIE!” He fired his gun as he ran: Shinichi fell back as Akai took a step forward. Hakuba dove down.

Hattori stuck out his foot, causing Snake to trip. He then hit him over the head with the metal pole, knocking him out.

Shinichi clapped in approval, beaming “Good job!”

Then coming from the direction Snake had just run from, he heard the sound of a woman’s voice.

He ran.

He found his mother cradling Kaito, who was sitting there, sweating in agony. They were surrounded by the unconscious bodies of what seemed like the personnel for the whole compound. Shinichi frowned. He must have taken the second pill. And though he was concerned about the man, he looked well enough. Shinichi set thoughts of him aside, more focused on—

"Mom," Shinichi said, relieved, hugging her. She squeezed back tightly.

"Shin-chan," she murmured, quiet enough so the others wouldn’t hear. "I'm so excited you came to rescue me!"

One of the men in black half-unconscious on the floor groaned, and Yukiko kicked him in the head, knocking him out again. "It wasn't necessary, but you did great storming their secret hideout!" she enthused.

"I had a little help,” he said, pulling her away, giving her a once over, making sure that Snake and his ilk hadn’t hurt her.

“I know~ Why didn’t you tell me you knew Kaito?” she asked, crossing her arms, expectant.

Shinichi grimaced. “It’s a long story.

“And I’m not exactly the one you know,” Kaito said weakly. He coughed, then stood to his feet, staggering.

Shinichi quickly moved to support him. Kaito leaned on him heavily, pressing his head against his shoulder. He was wet with sweat. “You doing okay?”

“My respect for your counterpart just grew like,” he waved his hand vaguely. “Changing like that _hurts_.”

“Want me to kiss it better?” Shinichi asked, half-flirting. Kaito had risked his life, his future, his chance back in order to rescue his mother. Selfless. Endearing. Shinichi could do much worse. 

“Be serious.”

“I am,” Shinichi said, heart full of emotion, and leaned in for a kiss. Kaito didn’t protest. In fact, he tilted his head, let out a happy little sigh, and leaned into it. It was warm. Good. Nice.

“You two are together?” Yukiko squealed. “Oh this is wonderful! I’ll have to tell Tōichi!”

Shinichi pulled away, embarrassed. He’d forgotten in the heat of the moment his mother was there. By the look on Kaito’s face, he had too.

Just in time too, as both of the detectives ran into the room, followed by Akai. “What the—” Hattori said

“Dad’s alive?” Kaito said faintly, eyes wide, looking ill. Yukiko nodded.

“Who’s she?” Hakuba demanded before turning to Kaito. “Kai..tō Kid. Glad to see you in one piece. But you don’t look well.”

“I’m alright,” Kaito said. He gave a startled laugh, amazed. “Dad…”

“There’s our errant little traveller,” Akai said cheerily. He beamed. “I’ve been looking all over for you!”

“Liar,” Shinichi coughed.

“Do you need a lozenge?” Akai asked him. “Sounds like you have something in your throat there.”

“Traveller? What does that mean—” Hakuba asked before a wave of Akai’s hand cut him off.

“I think you have other things to worry about. Like all these little thieves. Do take care of them now.” Akai shooed Hakuba and Hattori into the room and closed the door.

“So you’re the one responsible, huh?” Kaito asked.

“Of sorts,” Akai said. He reached into his cloak and pulled out the jade kirin. “This statue was waiting for a deft hand. My friend appreciates it, truly. You’ve blessed this world with your particular shade of luck.”

“What?”

Akai put the kirin in Kaito's hand. “Luck and prosperity. You have it in spades, and for that, we are grateful.”


	7. [last]

-♣-

“Akai,” Shinichi said.

“It is time for you to go,” the red wizard said. “Are you ready, Kuroba-kun?”

Kaito rocked back and forth, hands in his pockets. Looked over at Shinichi, whose poker face was firmly in place. But just for a moment, he imagined he saw something something like regret.

“Yeah. I’m ready to go.”

“You have the vessel?” Akai asked.

Kaito waved the jade kirin in his hand around. “Of course.”

Akai wove his hands together in a series of intricate movements. A flash of light, a chime, and then a grand yellow beast filled the lot. Its scales shone a faint boreal green, ringed by yellow fire, lightning sparking from its single branched horn. Its hind legs ended in deer-like hooves. It was large, divine, majestic.

“Then my friend will take you home.” Akai said. Kaito glanced over at the kirin pawing the ground with its claws, lion’s tail twitching. He couldn’t even be surprised at its existence. Kaito’s world had opened up far beyond what he thought was possible.

So he swallowed, and touched it. The sound of bells, a dip of its head as it flipped Kaito, and he was on his back. The electricity crackling off him was a pleasant tingle rather than a deadly surge.

Kaito rode the being of lightning through the night sky, great roar in his ears.

Kaito landed on the roof of the museum, jade kirin statuette in his hand, sparks dissipating harmlessly against his skin.

He was his white suit, fully grown again. He looked up into the rain, no longer casting down deadly lightning, and there he was. Not the young detective, he'd come to know, but Kudō Shinichi in all his teenage glory.

“It didn't work?” Kaito said, almost to himself.

“It worked,” Shinichi said hoarsely. “You're really Kaito-ō?”

Kaito's head snapped up at his slip, and he narrowed his eyes. “And if I called you Kudō Shinichi?”

“Then I would call you Kuroba Kaito,” Shinichi said. “But usually Kaito, these days.”

“Ha, same,” Kaito said hoarsely. “That was you?”

“No,” said a voice, interrupting them both. Then the caw of a crow.

“Akai?” Shinichi asked with some surprise.

The wizard inclined his head as a crow landed on his shoulder. “Kudō Shinichi had his own journey to take. Similar to yours in some ways. Very different in others.”

“So you’re the one who’s been interfering in this universe’s ley lines,” Akako said, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, red portal closing behind her. “And causing me an absurd amount of trouble.”

“Red witch,” Akai said, approving.

The rain stopped.

“Red witch,” Akako replied archly, crossing her arms. The crow rasped at her, scolding, and she scoffed. “You don’t belong here.”

“A friend of mine wanted to help right a wrong,” Akai said. “Is that so terrible?”

“It is when you usurp my domain to do so,” Akako said. She struck her sceptre against the ground. "Begone, nuisance."

Akai grinned. "I know when I'm not wanted," he said. He waved a hand and opened a portal, stepping back through. Before he stepped completely through, he turned and said, "But I do know when I'm needed. You're welcome!" Then he laughed, and his laughter echoed over the rooftop even after the portal closed.

“Why are you back to yourself?” Kaito asked. “I thought you’d still be mini-you.”

“I—I don’t know,” Shinichi said.

“You were a victim of some kind of transformation, then?” Akako asked. Shinichi nodded. She let out a sigh. “That outside magical energy acted as a catalyst, pushing your proper form in place. Like realigning a bone. The one good thing that thorn in my side did.”

“You called him a red ‘witch?’” Kaito asked, curious.

“It is a title. I will take my leave as well now that he is gone," Akako said. "Lest he use my absence to meddle more. Take care, Kaitō Kid, Detective of the East," she said, and then there were two.

Now that they were alone, Kaito asked, "Do you still want to wear the veil, Shin-chan?"

Shinichi cringed. "You remember that?" he asked, blushing.

"Of course I do!" Kaito said in mock outrage. "I had the most beautiful bride! He was hard to forget," Kaito bent and grabbed his fingertips, pressing a kiss to the back of his knuckles.

"Stop it," Shinichi said.

Kaito paused, looking up. "I don't mind being the bride at all, then. You did have to fight me for it!"

"Don't tell me you're going to propose, you moron," Shinichi said.

Kaito didn't think he'd ever seen him so red, for all his grumbling. So he got down on one knee to Shinichi's sputtering.

"Detective," he said. "Would you do me the honor of," he paused for dramatic effect, Shinichi's eyes widened, "dating me?"

Shinichi punched off his hat. "Be serious."

The hat rolled pathetically around in circles.

“I would like to seriously announce my intentions to date you.” A flourish, and Kaito held out a rose. When he didn’t take it, Kaito stood, picked up his hat with his other hand, and rolled it up his arm to his head.

“Well then, you know where to find me,” Kaito said, turning.

Shinichi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t just walk away from me, stupid.”

“Is this name calling going to be a thing? Because if it is—”

He was interrupted when Shinichi grabbed him by the lapels and kissed him. Kaito was surprised and wooden for all of two seconds before melting into the kiss. It was sweet.

“—I could get used to it,” he said, breathless. “Brat,” he added as an afterthought.

Shinichi tucked his face into Kaito’s neck. “Your life is weird.”

“I think yours is weirder,” Kaito said.

“Oh, I don’t know, all the things I found out about you…”

”You’ve still got a lot to learn.”

“I've learned enough. After all, I was already you.”

 

-END-

* * *

 

-BONUS-

 

-♠-

“I know who you are now,” was the first thing Kuroba said when his eyes cleared, and he stood from the flash of red-gold power, knees still a little shaky. He looked at his hands with wonder, as if he couldn’t believe he was back to his original body. Shinichi had thought it before, and he thought it now. Kuroba really was adorable. But now that he was back, Shinichi could acknowledge what he’d been avoiding ever since he’d first seen the pictures of him in his house at the beginning of all this.

Kuroba Kaito was really, really attractive.

“I know who you are, too,” Shinichi replied. “Did you know in at least one universe, you are a phantom thief?”

Kaito put his face in his hands and groaned. It was endearing. But then he looked up with a grin, one that become one of Shinichi's fondest sights over the past week or so. “We'd theorized. You know in at least one you're a detective?”

Shinichi did know, and that would never stop being weird. “Yes. Your phantom thief counterpart stole my mother, by the by.”

“Did he now?”

“He returned her, too. He was exceptional, I think. Filled with deep kindness, masked by easy dismissal.” In the end, he and his counterpart hadn’t been very different at all. “Sounds like someone else I know.”

“Shinichi—sorry, habit—Kudō,” he took a step forward, his hand outstretched.

“You were right the first time, Kaito,” Shinichi murmured, and pulled him close in one smooth movement, wrapping his cape around him. He took off his hat and pressed his face against his, whispering in his ear as Kaito clutched at his suit. “Tell me no, my dear detective.”

“ _Y_ _es,"_ he begged.

“Always the contrarian,” Shinichi mused, and kissed him, pressing their lips softly together as Kaito wrapped his arms around his neck. “Time to steal you away,” he said.

“Are you going to return me?”

Shinichi pressed his forehead to Kaito’s. “Do you want me to?”

“What do you think?”

“Still so stubborn. I'm glad you're back.”

“Me too,” Kaito said, reaching up to cradle his cheek. “I missed you. More than I thought possible. He was you, but it wasn't the same.”

“I know exactly how you feel,” Shinichi said. “He let me see what we could be, but in the end, I prefer you.” He bridged the distance between them and kissed him again.

Shinichi pulled away, walked to the edge of the roof, holding his hand out. “Are you ready to fly with me, my dear detective?” His cape blew out behind him in the direction of the wind.

Kaito placed his hand in his, swallowing. “Yes.”

So Shinichi pulled him close, racing heart pressed against his detective's back, and they leapt into the future together.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is taken from a word play joke about "déjà vu." "Déjà vu" means already seen, while "déjà vous" means already you. Perfect for an ID swap/role reversal!
> 
> Also, Kaito's alias is Ishimoto Toshirō, which I imagine being written as 石元 敏朗. Stone origin clever bright, in reference to Pandora. Also because it can be shortened to Shiro. 
> 
> The nickname Shiro was meant to reference Maurice Le **Blanc** , creator of Arsène Lupin. Blanc is French for white. Also Shiro (white) is the opposite of Kuro (black). 
> 
> Yeah.


End file.
